Great to hear Tom left ICU and went into his new private room....for me, that was the best part!! I had awesome nurses and care, rest, healing and enjoyment (I was at a different Center for Excellence, but I am sure Tom's experiences will be similar!). Keep doing the spirometer and coughing with the pillow! Congrats!

All sounds good and that is great.. Here's to continued and noticeable improvements and each day better than the last. I have started practicing toe press and finger squeezes in hopes it will get the tube out of my throat faster ;-)
Question: How did Dr tackle problem- minimally invasive, full incision, robotic, other? And did you have a choice?

Sorry it took me a while to answer your question. The short answer is yes, we did have a choice, but it was limited. With Dr. Bolling the incision options were full median sternotomy or a thoracotomy. Dr. Bolling prefers the sternotomy. He believes it is less painful because you are cutting mainly through bone and relatively little muscle, as opposed to a thoracotomy which requires cutting through significantly more muscle. Given that we were trusting him with Thomas' life, we decided to trust him on the incision issue also.

I found that if you choose your surgeon based on # of valve surgeries performed per year, and you select from among the group that performs THE most per year, the type of incision will most likely be determined by the surgeon you select. If you would like to hear the "minimally invasive" topic pro and con debated by some of the top surgeons in the field, I would suggest you go to this website: http://webcast.aats.org/2011-Mitral-Conclave/

Scroll a little over halfway down the page to 8:00 - 9:30a.m.- MITRAL PLENARY IV: MINI DEBATES, and view the 3 Sessions beginning with the 8:30 Session "Minimally Invasive for All".

Great news.
I was talking with a church friend whose husband recently had a heart attack, and shared this journal site with her. I told her it was in it's own way a type of mission, not only for information but for sharing faith. Turns out when they did her husbands heart catherization they discovered he has a bicuspid aorta. Small world. So they will be monitoring Brad for potential surgery in the next 10 years.
I called to check on him, and unbeknownst to me, she had sent me a get well card that I got out of the mailbox right after I hung up the phone. I'm assuming she thought I was calling because of the card. Anyway we had a nice talk about the whole heart and heart surgery thing.
God truly works in mysterious ways.

Many hugs to you & your family! The load is lighter when shared. I am 66 y.o. From s.c. Went to Cleveland for my surgery on Dec. 4th. I am just a few weeks ahead of you. Know that others who you will never meet are praying for all of you . Tthank you Adam , for a fantastic book & a wonderful " ring of support".

I couldn't be happier for Tom.Doing a happy dance for you both in Wisconsin and sending wishes for continued improvement. Knowing Tom is the trail blazer for me I am encouraged and thank you both for sharing.

Tom and Sherry, you are both in my prayers right now. I pray Jesus will be with Tom during the surgery and through recovery. You will also need His support Sherry, as the waiting is very hard on the family. May God help both of you through this difficult time. I too have MVR and am considering Dr. Bolling for surgery down the road.

Thoughts and prayers with you and Thomas tonight and tomorrow. Thomas will do great and is in great hands! I started at 5:30am also when I had my surgery. My operation ended up starting at 8am if I remember right. My wife is telling me that my surgery ended around 1pm. At about 1:20 they had my wife and family come into a meeting room and Dr. Bolling explained how the procedure went. After that my family was able to see me approximately 1-2 hours later.

They are very good with pain management. Thomas will be back in the swing of things in no time. God Bless you both and Dr. Bolling.

Something that has worked for me when I can't sleep due to stress or jetlag is binaural sleep tapes. You can go to youtube and put in binaural sleep. Then, put on headsets. It's worked most of the time.
Can't wait for the journal entry letting us know he is resting comfortably after surgery. Positive, healing thoughts for you.

Tom and Sherrie,
Thoughts and prayers from us in Missouri. Glad to hear the accommodations are so good. We did not get snow, just very cold this week.
I know that God will be watching over you both and the surgeon and medical team.
And it is so important to have a supporting spouse (in general, but especially thru the surgery and recovery process). I would be lost (and even more lonely stuck at home recovering) without my loving wife Vicki (of 33 plus years).
Even though she had to go back to work sooner than we hoped, she has been my driver (literally) thru this journey.
Tom

All the best for a successful surgery tomorrow. You will be in my thoughts and prayers tomorrow and in the days ahead. Your wait is almost over, and soon you will be on the other side enjoying the recovery:)
Godspeed and good luck!

Tom so glad you made it east and things are going as planned.Keep the faith and prayers will be going out to you and your family. As for the cold glad i'm here in cailf i'm cold all the time as it is can only think how i'd be feeling back there..

Thanks for the update. Glad things are going so smoothly. I'll be joining you tomorrow in the subfreezing temps. As a native Californian, I find it refreshing but wouldn't want to deal with it for long.
Healing thoughts heading your way from all your friends at HH.

Glad we heard from you guys! Didn't want to call at an inoppurtune time. Your girls (puppies) are doing great! They are having a tough time figuring out whose bed (J, M's or K's) they like better! Don't worry about them, they are in good hands. Good luck on your surgery! We'll be thinking of you and crossing our fingers!

Tom Musgrove Thank you. And you only need to apologize to Thomas for the weather. Being a native Californian he doesn't understand ice on the sidewalks. I, on the other ... Read more

Tom Musgrove Thank you. And you only need to apologize to Thomas for the weather. Being a native Californian he doesn't understand ice on the sidewalks. I, on the other hand, being a native Pennsylvanian am enjoying the heck out of it!

Wanted to wish you the best of luck on your procedure. I know that all will go well. I am currently 4 weeks post op. I had my mitral valve repaired Dec16 and I am feeling good. Just remember to stay with Ice chip's for the first day and then slowly introduce liquids, broths or jello. Don't rush this! Also try to get up in a chair and moving as soon as possible. Using your spirometer regularly also helps alot. Lastly make sure you stay on top of your pain! You are going to do great and be on the road to recovery in no time. God Bless!

We want you to know we are thinking about you and wishing you all the best in Michigan; it sounds like you are in excellent hands, remembering winters in Michigan in the 1940's growing up, I would hope it isn't too cold; I'm sure they have better heat than we did in that drafty, old Victorian house in Mt. Clemens. Soon this will be all behind you and you'll be back helping me keep the footing in the arena's properly graded for your gorgeous horse and all the others that depend on your skill.

By the way, Mr. Crash Kelley, not I, did a number on the comb last week while moving manure into the dump trailer. We'll keep it off in the future to avoid such mishaps. In the meantime, it's back at your friends shop (again) getting 'tweeked' back into shape.

I send you a heart full of thoughts and know Thomas will be in great care Sherry you would only let the best care for him. Sherry you are an amazingly strong woman someone I always want in my life. Thomas be strong, heal fast and when you get home we STILL need to have that dinner. Lots of love hugs and healing your way.

Hi Sherry.
I am sure you have talked to Marguerite or will when you arrive in Michigan. She is excellent at answering any and all questions that may arise. She is Dr. Bollings assistant(forgot her exact title)and a terrific lady.

Tom will be in great hands. 9 months for me this Thursday.
All the best.

I have followed your journey as I have your symptoms and your wife's emotions. I too have mitral valve regurgitation and debated between Dr Bolling and Dr. Gillinov. I think we can't go wrong with our choices.
You are one month ahead of me- I am Feb 20 with Dr Gillinov. Waiting is hard. Sometimes I think the waiting alone and dr appts are worth 20 additional blood pressure points. I try to remember Churchill and Keep calm and carry on. It works some days better than others.
Now deciding whether to drive or fly from Madison Wis to Cleveland. Sounds like you are driving.
I have enjoyed your sharing. Please continue to keep us posted. I will look for your words of wisdom for me and your wife's words for my caregiver.
You and your wife will be in my thoughts.
Best of everything to you both and thanks again for sharing. Here's to the day this is a mere bump in the road in our rear view mirrors.

Tom Musgrove Hi Patti, this is Sherry. Thomas is not really a Journal type guy, so I do all the posting.

Thanks for your comments. I loved your "bump in the road" comment. ... Read more

Tom Musgrove Hi Patti, this is Sherry. Thomas is not really a Journal type guy, so I do all the posting.

Thanks for your comments. I loved your "bump in the road" comment. Amen to that! And I couldn't agree more that neither of us can go wrong with our choice of surgeons.

One slight correction, we live in California, so we are definitely flying to Michigan, not driving. Will be a bit of a shock coming from 65 degree weather, but we don't plan to be outside much. I'm originally from Pennsylvania so I am actually looking forward to seeing some snow.

How long ago did you first find out your MVR had progressed to the point of needing surgery? The waiting really is the worst. Best of luck to you. Will look forward to hearing from you.